French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius Thursday said it was likely that force will be used to end the unrest in Mali, where al Qaeda-linked militants control a vast swath of land in the north. Fabius noted that intervention would be African-led.

Military intervention by foreign powers in Mali is “probable,” France’s Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Thursday, to end unrest in the West African nation where al-Qaeda-linked militants control significant territory.

“At one moment or another there will probably be the use of force,” Fabius said, noting that intervention would be African-led but supported by international forces.

Regional and Western governments have compared the situation in Mali to Afghanistan, as a mix of local and foreign Islamists, including al-Qaeda-linked fighters, have hijacked a rebellion initially launched in January by secular Tuareg separatist rebels.